1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of duct-type cable routing systems. More specifically, the invention relates to fittings that include barb assemblies that can bitingly engage an end of a cable duct section and oppose removal of the cable duct section from the cable duct component.
2. Background
Raceway duct systems have become very popular in recent years to route, protect, and conceal data, voice, video, fiber optic, and/or power cabling. Such systems allow custom installation and can be provided within walls or provided on external surfaces, allowing ready access for reconfiguration, repair, or installation of additional equipment. Such systems may typically include various sections of duct or raceway, including straight sections and various fittings, such as 90° elbow fittings, 45° elbow fittings, T-fittings, four-way intersection (x) fittings, and the like, respective ones of which are affixed together by duct couplers to cumulatively form a duct system.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,634,605, 6,523,791, 6,450,458, and 6,559,378 provide examples and descriptions of the general background of cable duct couplers and other cable duct fittings, and the entirety of these applications are incorporated herein by reference as though set forth here in full. U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,243 (assigned to ADC Telecommunications, Inc.) provides a description of the general background and environment of cable routing systems, and the specification of that issued patent is incorporated herein by reference as though set forth here in full.
Due to the increase in the number and sophistication of such raceway duct systems, the number of duct couplers and fittings being installed in such systems has also increased significantly. Therefore, it is important to have couplers and fittings that are easy to install and inexpensive to manufacture, and that provide relatively high resistance to “pullout” forces to prevent unintended disassembly.
Previous designs disclosed cable duct components with barb assemblies that could bitingly engage another component of a cable duct system, such as a section of cable duct or raceway. Through such engagement, the barb could resist a tensile “pullout” force applied to the other cable duct component, and the barb could oppose removal of that component. There are limits, however, to the pullout force that the barb can resist. Although previous designs were improvements over the prior art, it would be a further improvement to provide a product that could resist a larger pullout force. Significantly, the present invention increases the ability of a barb to resist a tensile pullout force.